Source: "Nothing imminent" with Thomas, Goff

A few short weeks ago it looked like the return of Terrell Thomas was a slam dunk. Now it seems that the cornerback will wind up on the open market when free agency begins on Tuesday afternoon.

According to a sourse, there is nothing imminent between the Giants and Thomas. Nor, for that matter, is anything on the immediate horizon before Jonathan Goff hits free agency on Tuesday. Both players were considered keys to the 2011 defense before they tore their ACLs in the preseason. Of course, the Giants won a Super Bowl without them. But they spent most of the season trying to figure out a way to replace them before doing so just in time for a playoff run.

Thomas told me in January, during the playoff run, that the team had expressed to him a desire to bring him back and he was excited about that. Last Thursday, he was on SiriusXM’s NFL Radio said took a more practical is only slightly less optimistic tone, saying: “Obviously this industry is a business so I’m definitely open to free agency but the talks with the Giants are going very well. I don’t think they want me to hit the free agent market and so we’ll know in a couple of weeks whether I’m a free agent or I return to the New York Giants.”

The situation could change quickly, as it often does at this time of the year. But as of right now, it does not appear that the Giants will be signing Thomas or Goff to a contract before other teams get a chance to woo them.